Conventionally, an automatic opening and closing apparatus provided for vehicle such as automotive vehicle has: an opening and closing element which opens and closes an opening portion; an electric motor which drives the opening and closing element; and an operation switch which turns on or off the electric motor. When an operator operates the operation switch, the electric motor is driven so as to open or close the opening and closing element, and the automatic opening and closing apparatus drives the opening and closing element on the basis of not only operation of the operation switch but also other operation conditions.
For example, the automatic opening and closing apparatus uses a touch sensor unit to detect that a blockage is caught between the opening portion and the opening and closing element. The touch sensor unit is fixed to the opening portion or the opening and closing element, and configured to detect the contact with a blockage. Additionally, the automatic opening and closing apparatus opens the opening and closing element under closing operation, or stops the opening and closing element under closing operation on the spot, regardless of the operation of the operation switch, on the basis of a detection signal input from the touch sensor unit.
Patent Document 1 discloses one example of a touch sensor unit which is used for such an automatic opening and closing apparatus. A foreign object detection sensor (touch sensor unit) disclosed in Patent Document 1 is held by a protector (sensor holder) which has a cylindrical sensor holding portion (sensor portion) and an attaching portion (elastic base portion) protruding from an outer circumferential surface of the sensor holding portion to an outer circumferential side of the sensor holing portion.
Additionally, notched portions are formed in portions of the attaching portion along a longitudinal direction thereof, thereby facilitating a curving process of the sensor holding portion along the curved shape of a fixing portion (fixing object), and eventually facilitating attachment with a double-sided adhesive tape (adhesive tape).